Post by fifthhorseman on Nov 10, 2020 21:14:58 GMT -5
CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA
EPISODE 34
EPISODE 34
A 60-second video montage showcasing some of the greatest stars that competed in the classic CWF, as well as FCW and NXT, opens the telecast, ending with a still shot of Drew McIntyre hitting Brian Pillman with a Claymore kick.
“Mean” Gene Okerlund in the middle of the ring for title match introductions!
CWF TELEVISION TITLE MATCH
EC3 vs. BARRY WINDHAM (c):
vs.
EC3 vs. BARRY WINDHAM (c):
vs.
The former TNA World champ was making quite the debut, getting a shot at Windham's TV belt. The spin of the dial came up Pure Rules, giving the champion a slight edge, but that didn't phase EC3. Carter wrestled like a heel, taking shortcuts and taunting the crowd when he had the time to do so. However, the experienced Texan was up to the task, and although it nearly took the full ten minutes, Windham pinned his foe after a superplex.
After the match, Okerlund interviewed the reigning champ in the ring. Windham said that he wasn't booked for Survivor Series yet, and he wasn't even sure if the TV title was a belt that would be defended at an event like that... but regardless, he hoped that Bobby Heenan would get him on the card.
COMMERCIAL
A VTR aired, and it “starred” Jerry Lawler, who was angry that Tom R.Y. Carter didn't come out last week to explain what his grievance was with “the King”. Therefore, Lawler was calling him out again – he wanted to meet him in the ring, face to face, next week... and if he didn't accept his challenge, then Lawler would just have to assume that Carter was a coward.
The All-Star announcing team of Lance Russell and Mauro Ranallo set up the rest of the night's card – five more matches were still to come!
TED DiBIASE, Jr. vs. PAUL ORNDORFF:
vs.
vs.
A quick video recap from the week before aired during the entrances, where the debuting “Mr. Wonderful” handily defeated DiBiase's friend, Richie Steamboat. This week, it was the third-generation star's chance to get some revenge on Orndorff. He started strong, but a missed elbowdrop mere moments into the match was the mistake that turned the tide. The Tampa powerhouse took over, and just a few minutes later, finished DiBiase off with a piledriver.
But before he left, he picked DiBiase up and hit him with a second one. He posed over his fallen foe, prompting Steamboat to charge down the ramp – and this time, he brought more reinforcements, as the Hart Dynasty followed him down. Orndorff scowled, and as they entered the ring, he departed. On his way backstage, he was intercepted by Oliver Humperdink, and the two men kept walking.
They walked past Timothy Thatcher, who was doing some last-minute stretching before his match against the man he wanted to face ever since being knocked out of the Television championship tournament several weeks earlier – Terry Funk.
COMMERCIAL
TERRY FUNK vs. TIMOTHY THATCHER:
vs.
vs.
They went nose-to-nose, and it didn't matter whether they fought a normal match, no holds barred, or pure rules. They were genuine type A personalities, and before it was all over, they basically did all three. The Sacramento shooter tried to show off early on with grappling, but Funk refused to lie down and take it, and the ornery Texan used his fists to send that message. But Thatcher could throw punches and strikes with the best of them as well, and they went back-and-forth for well over 15 minutes, with barely any breaks.
Unfortunately for the enthusiastic crowd, the Devil's Advocates came out and ruined it. Hade Vansen, Leo Kruger, and Dexter Lumis went straight at Funk, and his opponent reluctantly bailed out, frustrated at the no-decision. The three zealots stomped away at the hardcore icon for several tense moments, but they were run off by his older brother Dory, who charged down with a branding iron in hand.
COMMERCIAL
Backstage, the Funks were irate, and they shouted at the cameraman who followed them back. They wanted the Devil's Advocates – any two of them – in a Texas tornado match next week.
Another video was shown, a mish-mash of footage shot with various camera phones and official WCW TV. When it ended, the Samoa Fight Club and the East-West Connection were on a beach somewhere, discussing their upcoming Starrcade match. It was clearly evident that they didn't like or trust each other, but they declared a truce with each other so that they could go into Starrcade at full strength, and insure that one of the teams would bring the WCW World tag-team belts back with them.
STARSHIP COYOTE vs. XAVIER WOODS (w/the New Day):
vs.
vs.
Of note, Coyote's partner, Sean O'Haire, walked out with him – but CWF officials came out as well and told him to leave, blaming him for the Advocates' earlier attack. O'Haire gave them a sinister stare, but then patted Coyote on the shoulder, and he left.
However, Kingston and Langston were allowed to stay in Woods' corner; perhaps the referee thought that the former mutli-time WWE tag champs would dissuade any interference. As it turned out, the official was correct, and the contest was a fair fight. It wasn't a particularly close match, but at least it was fair. Coyote was just too big and strong for Woods to take down, and the stoic titan took charge and ended it in about ten minutes – not with a Razor's Edge, but with a bulldog.
Despite the loss, when Woods recovered, the trio extended their hands to congratulate Coyote. He just looked down at their hands with hardly any expression on his face, and he left them there in the ring, mystified by his behavior.
COMMERCIAL
A recap of last week's brutal match between Brian Pillman and Drew McIntyre aired, culminating in Brock Lesnar's sneak-attack on the Scottish winner. It segued into a VTR that McIntyre sent in, and on that video, the angry “Chosen One” declared that he would be the new CWF Southern Heavyweight champion in just a few weeks. He already went through Pillman; he'd go through Lesnar, through Muhammad Hassan, through anybody else Heenan put in front of him between now and the end of the month.
CWF SOUTHERN TAG-TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
FUTURE SHOCK vs. the VARSITY CLUB (w/Nick Nemeth and Eric Bugenhagen):
vs.
FUTURE SHOCK vs. the VARSITY CLUB (w/Nick Nemeth and Eric Bugenhagen):
vs.
Ranallo wondered what sort of mood Bobby Heenan was in, giving title shots to both EC3 and Future Shock in their CWF debuts – he must have been feeling generous. As usual, Rotunda straddled the line of sportsmanship; Spivey crossed that line repeatedly. They isolated Cole from his corner, but the young prospect was tougher than they thought, and he eventually tagged out to O'Reilly. The Canadian fired back at the tag champions with fists, feet, and elbows, and the crowd suddenly took notice of the new team. Nemeth shouted at his men to fight back, and after the former defensive end from Georgia launched O'Reilly shoulder-first into the hard ringpost, they regained control. Rotunda ended it with a double-underhook suplex.
Bugenhagen gave Cole and O'Reilly bro-hugs as they left, and Nemeth entered the ring with a microphone. “We still don't have a match at Survivor Series. Not me, not Eric, and not the Southern Tag-Team champions. So, if the matches won't come to us, we're gonna try to make the match come to us. You can have your Nexuses and Devil's Advocates and Houses of Humperdink... the Gulf Coast Varsity Club is the strongest team in Florida, and the most cohesive group in the MUW Network. So I want to have a traditional Survivor Series match against any four men in this, the sport of professional wrestling, that want to try us on for size.”
COMMERCIAL
It was main event time, and for this one, Heenan wanted to keep his Florida Heavyweight champion sharp – albeit in a non-title bout – and he figured putting him in the squared circle against one of the ringside judges from a few weeks ago was clever. But before it began, he sat down at the announcers' table, and picked up a mike. “Hello, humanoids – I think you're gonna want to hear this.”
He plugged his cell phone into one of the sound units at the table, tapped a couple of buttons, and said, “Are you still there, champ?”
“Yes, I am,” replied the MUW World champion, Samoa Joe. “And I thank you for taking my call. I'll be brief. .. after all, I have a busy schedule of title defenses coming up over the next few weeks. But I know CWF has a big show coming up as well. I'm also aware that both your Florida Heavyweight champion, and your Southern heavyweight champion, are already busy that night. For that matter, with all of the team matches I've heard about, nearly every wrestler in Florida is tied up that night.”
The announcers, and even Heenan, were impressed by Joe's product knowledge – but nothing got past Samoa Joe. He continued. “But there is someone that impressed tonight, and I have to say, the way he battles week in and week out impresses me. That man is Barry Windham. So I want to test my skills against his, under whatever match stipulation comes up. It doesn't even have to be for the Television title. I just want to be the man that defeats him first.”
Heenan was grinning from ear to ear. “Joe, I can make room for you on my card anytime! I'll have my people send your people a contract!”
The line went dead, and “the Brain” was rubbing his hands together, counting the additional number of pay-per-views that 90-second phone call just sold.\
NON-TITLE MATCH
“SUPERSTAR” BILLY GRAHAM vs. RICK RUDE (c, w/Percy Pringle III):
vs.
“SUPERSTAR” BILLY GRAHAM vs. RICK RUDE (c, w/Percy Pringle III):
vs.
Rude was too arrogant to even consider the fact that his opponent was stronger than him – and it nearly cost him early, as the “Superstar” bested him with a Greco-Roman knucklelock, pressed him overhead, and slammed him down. Frustrated, the “Ravishing One” rolled outside, where Pringle calmed him down. A change in strategy was in order.
Graham stayed on offense for a couple more minutes, but Rude resorted to heelish tactics to turn the tide. The champion eventually muscled him down, and went to work on Graham's lower back, dropping a series of knees onto him. Then he tried to break him in half with a Boston crab, and he leaned back in anticipation of a submission victory.
With the crowd's support, SBG battled back. He powered out of it, and fired off several jabs before knocking Rude down with a big right cross. The comeback was on, and he hit Rude with a couple of back-bodydrops, an atomic drop, and finally a clothesline over the top rope. At that point, Rude decided that he had enough, and he started walking back up the ramp.
But he stopped dead in his tracks when Jack Brisco walked onto the stage, eager to get his hands on Rude for ambushing him a couple of weeks earlier. However, before the two men could lock up, the Destruction Crew – Pringle's Minnesotan musclemen – also appeared, on the opposite side of the stage. Rude smirked, and was about to signal for a three-on-one attack – but he was grabbed from behind from Graham, and the two fought on the ramp. Thus, Rude never saw Dusty Rhodes come out as well, and he and Brisco began to brawl with Enos and Bloom! The show ended in pandemonium, with two separate fights involving six different men taking place, and CWF officials and referees ran out to try to break everything up. Fade to black.